© 2024 Boise State Public Radio
NPR in Idaho
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

On The Thursday, July 12, 2018 Edition Of Idaho Matters:

  • Idaho Department of Correction Director Henry Atencio discusses overcrowding.
  • A former state supreme court justice files suit on behalf of Idaho students.
  • State House Speaker Scott Bedke narrowly averts a special session.
  • 45 years later, Old Idaho Penitentiary still gets visitors.

- The state's prison system is experiencing critical overcrowding. Inmates are being farmed out to penitentiaries in other states and county jails, and the inmate population is expected to surpass 10,000 by 2020. Prison officials have suggested a half-billion dollar prison expansion that the state is coinsidering. On Thursday's Idaho Matters, we'll speak with DOC director Henry Atencio about the state's growing prison population and how they will be housed in the future.

- Former Idaho Supreme Court Justice Robert Huntley filed a class action lawsuit against several public school districts in the state of Idaho for charging fees to K-12 students. The suit was filed on behalf of every student in Idaho and their parents. Huntley says these fees violate the state's constitution and he joins Idaho Matters on Thursday to explain his motivation for filing this suit.

- The state legislature nearly convened a special session to parse out the details of unresolved issues of flood control on Southwest Idaho rivers. The session was averted and tomorrow House Speaker Scott Bedke will walk us through the issue and the resolution.

- The Idaho State Penitentiary in Boise closed 45 years ago, and as hard as they tried to keep people in, these days they can't keep people out. Amber Bierle of the Idaho State Historical Society talks about the history of the "Old Pen" and some of the upcoming events, including a scavenger hunt on Friday the 13th.

Stay Connected

You make stories like this possible.

The biggest portion of Boise State Public Radio's funding comes from readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

Your donation today helps make our local reporting free for our entire community.